Review of The Ancient Magus' Bride

“I don’t care if he thinks of me as a toy, and throws me out when he’s bored. It’s because he… even though it was only one time, said to me that I am his family.” Chise Hatori. The fall 17 anime season was a very interesting season for anime as we got a lot of shows that were actually good for the most part. Sure it that season had it stinkers like Ousama Game The Animation and Juuni Taisen but what am trying to say is that Fall 17 anime season reminded me how great the Fall 14 anime season was in terms of shows.However out of all the shows from the Fall 17 there was one show in particular that I had eyes ever since I watched the trailer it and that anime is Mahoutsukai No Yome or The Ancient Magus’ Bride in English.
When the first episode came out I watched it and while I liked it I thought the show was missing something in particular. After that I decided to watch the prequel OVAs and I loved it because not it was a lovely OVAs series but it I found that the TV was missing and it was Chise’s past aka her early life where it showcases how Chise became the person that she was in episode 1 of the TV series. Soon after I decided to watch Magus Bride weekly subbed along with some episodes dubbed and after watching all 24 episodes of Magus Bride I have to say this. The Ancient Magus Bride is not only one of the best animes to come out in the last 3 years but the show quickly became one of my all-time favourite’s animes.
So what made this anime so special?
You will soon find out.

Story.
The story of Ancient Magus Bride follows a girl named Chise who sold herself into slavery due to her not feeling wanted by her relatives. When all hope was almost lost a tall masked gentleman named Elias Ainsworth bids 5 million for the girl and outbids every other bidder in the room. Soon after Elias wins bid he takes Chise to her new home in rural England where she can begin her new life as an apprentice and future wife for Elias.
The story of The Ancient Magus Bride is absolutely brilliant in every way possible.
It's one of the best comings of stories I have ever seen period. It's was very well told, it perfectly showcased the rise of fall of Chise life in the new world as an apprentice and her journey from start to finish was very satisfying to watch as she's stars to find value in her new world and her own life.
Ancient Magus Bride is absolutely fantastic at presenting its world. Everything in its world feel alive has a purpose and it repents London perfectly. After experiencing the same old, boring JRPG, MMO fantasy setting that we all have seen before. The world for The Ancient Magus Bride feels like a breath of fresh air. If you though the Ancient Magus Bride is great at establishing its world than the worldbuilding is fantastic as it gives amazing attention to detail has been put to this setting from the food that they eat which is very British, the creatures races, the train sets from the First Great Western train to even the station itself that represents London Paddington Station. I know am diving in too about detail but it's these small that make the world of Ancient Magus Bride real and unique. I don't want to see an anime where for example having a British setting with anBritish cottage and some dude giving out Udon instead of Fish and Chips.
The small things in this show can mean a lot for your setting because it can give the setting more meaning compare to many throwaway Isekai shows like In Another World With My Smartphone and Knight’s & Magic. As a Londoner I was glad that the show managed to treat the city with London and the country of English with respect.
The pacing in this show is brilliant. Sure it may be too slow for some but keep in mind that this is a coming of age story where shows like this like to take time to establish the world, setting, themes and characters in a great and mature way. If only I can say the same thing to a certain shounen anime from the fall 17 done byStudioPierrot but we will get to that certain show another time.
Anyway, the show knows how to pace itself well to a point where the viewer can got invested with all the events that the show has to offer.
The first half of The Ancient Magus Bride is mostly a well-told collection of stories that meant to the new world that Chise is currently living as well as establishing the characters and Chise eventually growth. The second half, on the other hand, is more serious and darker especially the last four episodes where the show does a complete 180 with its tone. The first half and the prequel OVAs may have some dark moments but they are tamed when compare to these episodes where literally shit got real pretty fast. Both half’s were great but I personally preferred the second half overall due to it being more darker natured as well new themes and topics that completely changed the tone of the series not to mention some of the themes that were explored in the first half now have a darker edge to them. Speaking of themes let’s talk about quickly go through some of some of them now
One thing that I adore about The Ancient Magus Bride is the theme and messages.
Themes of hope, fate, rebirth, living, and especially love were well explored to where some of those themes link well with each other for example in episode 3 Chise visits a dragon who is ready to pass away.
Another thing that I love about themes in this show is how it showcases the downfall of characters where they don’t fully understand love, value and life. Two great examples of this are fully showcased in episode 21, 22 and 23 which I won’t mention due to spoilers. This show also does a great job tacking serious topics such like being curse where there’s nothing you can do about it and you can’t simply remove the curse that is inside you even if you decide to cut your legs or arms off.
The last thing that I want to talk about this the pedophilia controversy with Chise and Elias. Guys there is no pedophilia in this show plus the creators never even tried to glamorize pedophilia. If you watch an anime that features a lot of pedophilia that also features incest go watch Eromanga Sensei and enjoy the pedophilia as its glory as well being on the FBI watchlist.
Am sorry I had to bring this up because shit like that always infuriates me.
Overall the story of The Ancient Magus Bride was fantastic. It’s was well told, well-paced, it established its setting perfectly and the themes and messages were well handled and treated with respect
10/10

Characters.
Like with the story the charterers are brilliant as well-being likeable and well written.
I start with the main female protagonist Chise who is one of easily one of the best female leads I have seen in any anime. I honestly love this character from start to finish. She may appear to be a bit dull character at first but as the series progresses she greatly grows as a character that you can sympathise with.
Also, the one thing you should keep in mind is Chise is a tragic character where after the events of the prequel OVAs before episode 1 she was suffering from depression to a point where she sold herself to slavery.
Seeing Chise grow as a character was a great experience as she was very determined to keep on living.
Elias is also a great character. Just like Chise he’s is a flawed character where he doesn’t know the true meaning of love but as the series goes one he learns more about love and how it can it affect others. Like with Chise as the series goes on he quickly became a great and loveable character on his own right.
The rest of the characters were pretty great and enjoyable to watch as well severing they propose of the story very well.
Overall the characters in Ancient Magus Bride were brilliant and enjoyable from start to finish.
10/10

Visuals.
Where do I begin with visuals because this show visually is an utter masterpiece?
WIZ Studio did an awesome job with the production side of the show
The characters designs are amazing and well detailed and on top of that use of colour palates for the character designs is splendid and it makes the world even more presentable.
The camerawork in this show is brilliant. Everything from the basic mid shot, close up shots, wide to the establishing shots. Plus the contrast and lighting in the show were amazing.
The actual animation is top notch. It flowed well as being very consistent throughout its run.
One thing that I adore about the visuals is that is almost identical to the Prequel OVAs because usually, the TV series would be inferior compared to their ova counterpart but I was surprised of how great the TV series compare to the OVAs prequels.
The last thing I want to mention is the Chise Phoenix Segment from episode 12. That segment was honestly beautiful as it was very well animated and it perfectly symbolized Chise growth as a character as she now been reborn in her new world.
Overall The Ancient Magus Brides is a visual masterpiece of art.
10/10

Sound.
The soundtrack for The Ancient Magus is absolutely beautiful. This is one of the few shows where every single track and I mean every single track in the show was amazing and fits with the tone of this series.
My favorite track from the soundtrack is the one played in episode 3 Liberoara. As soon as that track/insert song I started to tear up because we the audience such as myself were about to witness an end to a life of an ancient dragon.
The first opening Here by JUNNA is a fantastic opening theme that perfectly fits with the first half of the show. Not to mention is catchy as hell.
While the first opening theme was fantastic the second opening on the other hand was pretty underwhelming at best. Not only the song itself did not fit well with the nature of the second half but visuals were terribly placed and timed. The final nail in the coffin that it literally feels like a badly made AMV where you can literally make it on Sony Vegas Pro or even PlayStation 4 Share Factory
If you hear the second opening theme do yourself a favor and skip it at all cost because it’s honestly not worth it.
On the other hand both ending themes Wa –Cycel by Hana Itoki and Tsuki no mou Hanbun by Aiki and Akino were equally good in they own rights.
Now for dub vs sub.
To be honest they are both amazing on they own rights but I personally prefer the dub overall.
For her first role as the main character, Dani Chambers did a fantastic job at voicing Chise as she has a lot of subtlety and personality to her voice. She's easily the best performance of the dub overall.
Brian Mathis is great as Elias as he able to sound like ancient magician perfectly despite Elias being unable to show expressions as he has no proper face.
9/10 one point taking off due to the terrible made 2nd opening.

Final Thoughts.
What a wonderful series. I was honestly shocked at how amazing this series was from start to finish.
The story was wonderful and well told. The pacing was brilliant, the themes and messages beautifully executed. The characters were all great and very enjoyable to watch. The visuals were outstanding and to top it all up the soundtrack and voice acting for both languages were top notch. The only bad thing about the show overall was the second opening theme with was unfortunately pretty bad and should be skipped but that didn’t ruin the show for me that much. It just didn’t work. Besides that this show is a masterpiece that should not be missed by anyone.
On my Little Witch Academia TV review I mentioned that it was my favorite anime of 2017 well after watching all 24 episodes of The Ancient Magus Bride it now completely stole that spot of favorite anime of 2017 and pushed that anime to 2nd place.
This show represents everything that I love about anime.
When this show gets a collector’s edition on Blu-Ray I will definitely buy this masterpiece so I can experience it again.
With all said The Ancient Magus Bride is not only one of the best anime to come out from this decade but it's one of my favorite’s anime series.
If you haven't seen this series please go watch it on Funmation as well being the Blu-Rays once they come out.
You won’t regret it.
Final Score 9.5/10